The (Second to) Last Time Lord
by Athyna DaughterofPosiedon
Summary: The Doctor is the last Time Lord... with the exception of an agoraphobic redhead he pulled from the Time War. Follows Nine and Rose plus the second-to-last Time Lord, Zöenna. Range of extremely short to long and angsty to sad. RoseXNineXZöe
1. The Time War (Prologue)

_ The sky is on fire, burning red, though her internal clock claims it is night. Her lungs are tight and her throat is coated with dust from the collapsed building. Breathing burns, and she can't look behind her because she's lying against the cracked earth and her leg is trapped beneath a slab of rock and it's covered in blood. There are people moaning all around her and she's pretty sure the man next to her is almost dead. His limbs are beginning to glow orange, but he's almost completely under a slab of rock, and will regenerating really help?_

_ To distract herself, she looks up, hoping to see Time Lord battle ships flying through the air, maybe coming to her rescue. Instead, the sky is filled with pepper pot-shaped things, all flying towards the capitol building. "EXTERMINATE" fills the air, and she squeezes her eyes shut, hoping against all hopes that they won't see her. A shadow falls, and she thinks to herself, "This is it. It's all over." But then she feels the weight on her leg lifting, and warm arms are wrapping around her and lifting her up._

_ "Come on, we have to run," she hears, and for the first time in a long while she feels safe, like everything is going to be ok. Then, there's a flash of blue light, a scream of pain, and she's falling, falling, and her body is on fire, blistering, stretching, charring, burning—_

Zöenna wakes up screaming, and, almost instantly, there are two pairs of strong arms wrapped around her. She's being pulled into Rose's soft curves, and The Doctor's black leather jacket.

"Shhhhh, sweetie, it's ok. You're safe," Rose whispers into her shoulder.

"The Time War is over Zöe, you're in the TARDIS." There's a soft hum—the TARDIS offering her own attempt at comfort.

Zöe hiccups, and sobs out, "I was safe. You were rescuing me, b-but a Dalek came and it…" she trails off into more sobs. Rose pulls her tighter, blonde locks falling over the redhead's shoulder and tickling her neck. Zöe relaxes into the embrace, hands still clutching at black leather.

"Come on sweetie," Rose whispers, tugging her down so that they're lying flat on the bed. For a moment, Zöe feels harsh ground, but then it fades into the softness of her own bed. Rose and The Doctor curl protectively around her, and they each drop a kiss onto her head.


	2. The Beach

**A/N Here's the first real chapter. I'm going to post pictures of Zöenna on my deviantArt page soon. (Username OmicronChildofAthena)**

"Come on! It's just the beach," Rose laughs, tugging at Zöe's hand.

"N-no it isn't! It's a whole planet, and the sand is purple. Plus, bad things happen you go outside: aliens, and monsters, and chasing, and-and sometimes being captured, a-and burning. Fire. Oh god, so much fire—"

"Zö. Stop, stop and look at me." Rose grabs her face, staring into her eyes, trying to will the memories away. Zöe's legs go weak, and she collapses forward. Rose's arms wind around her waist, and they both stumble backwards. It's become almost routine: the jelly-legs, the stumbling, and, worst of all, the crying. "Shhhhh, sweetie." Zöenna looks up at her, and Rose smiles. "There we go. Look, The Doctor says that the planet is uninhabited. Now, are we gonna sit in the TARDIS and mope about things that happened ages ago like the Doctor does, or," she pauses significantly, "are we gonna go and have the best day at the beach ever?"

Zöenna manages to stop the tears streaming down her cheeks, and chuckles a bit. "He does tend to mope, doesn't he?" Rose nods. "Alright, well, I think I could deal with the beach."

"Great! Now come on, we have to get you into appropriate clothes." Rose grasps her hand, and tugs her towards the closet. They burst through the door, and Rose yanks her into the depths of the massive room. "Here!" she cries, yanking a light blue tank top, and a pair of lavender-blue shorts off the rack.

"What? No. No way. Those things are tiny!"

"Too bad," Rose exclaims, yanking Zöe's rainbow scarf off of her neck, and tugging the girl's shirt off.

"Gah!" Zöenna shrieks, hands flying up to her chest in an attempt to cover up.

"Oh, stop being such a baby." Rose thrusts the shirt at her. "Now, do I have to help you with the shorts as well?" She stares pointedly at the Time Lord's pants. Zöenna's face flushes, and she shakes her head, pulling the tank top onto her head. She tugs at the bottom of the shirt, trying to get it to come down over the waistband of her pants. Rose reaches forward, and pulls on one of Zöe's belt loops.

"Fine, fine," the redhead sighs. "Do you mind?" Rose sighs dramatically, and turns around.

"Ok. I-I guess I'm ready." Rose spins around and squeals with joy. Zöe pulls self-consciously at the shirt and shorts, trying to make them longer.

"Stop it," Rose chides, swatting at her hands. "You'll stretch them out."

"That's kinda the point. Well, we may as well get this over with."

"Oh, stop making it sound so much like a chore. It's the beach! It'll be fun. Purple sands, turquoise oceans, and hardly any waves." She grabs Zöe's hand, and the two girls fly through the hallways of the TARDIS. "Are we there yet," Rose calls out, as they approach the console room.

"Nearly," The Doctor calls back. There's a rumble, and a wheezing noise, and then a bump that sends the two girls tumbling into the console room. They pull themselves to their feet, giggling. When Zöe looks up, The Doctor is staring, and gaping slightly. Zöenna's face lights up, red enough to match her hair. The two of them stare at each other for a moment, and then Rose grasps her hand, and tugs her out the door. For a moment, Zöe is blinded by the intensity of the sunlight. The last time she'd been outside, it'd been night, nearly pitch black, and they'd been on the banks of the Thames in 1782.

"Well, are you going to just stand there and gape, or are you going to come build sand castles with me?" Zöe looks up and is met with the sight of Rose, flying along the beach towards the water. That seems to be how things are with Rose, fast and fun. She sighs, and takes off after her. When she reaches the edge of the water, Rose has already sat down, and she's packing together sand that's purple and navy blue.

"Shouldn't we have brought buckets and shovels or something?" Rose stares up at her, and then smacks her forehead.

"We can't go back to the TARDIS. The Doctor will probably tell us that we're urgently needed on the planet of Splot, or some-such."

"I don't think that there is such a thing, but I see your point."

"We could go swimming," Rose suggests, grinning.

"But, we haven't brought bathing suits, and, like you said, we can't go back to change. This is really turning into a rubbish vacation, and…" she trails off, not liking the way that Rose is grinning at her.

"Bathing suits are rubbish." With that, Rose tugs off her tank top and shorts and goes splashing into the water. Zöenna looks around suspiciously, feeling silly; as The Doctor had told them at least a dozen times that the planet was entirely void of any kind of life. Then again, that's what he'd said about Flaxoupharivian, and he and Rose had only barely escaped execution. All she sees is purple sand, turquoise ocean, and magenta cliffs stretching from horizon to horizon, so she grabs the bottom of her top and pulls it off, doing the same with her shorts before hurrying in after her.

The water is warm, and pleasant, or at least, it is until Rose shoves her hands ungracefully through the water, splashing it into Zöe's face. She splutters a little, and then retaliates. Her splash, in comparison to Rose's is quite pathetic. However, after few more tries, she's managed to get the waves up to par, and soon they're in a full-blown water war. Zöe can barley see, so when the splashing stops, she's surprised. At least, she is until she's dragged beneath the surface of the water. She thrashes around for a moment, and then struggles to the surface. Rose is treading water a little ways in front of her, a pleased grin plastered to her face.

"What the bloody hell?"

"Got you," Rose grins, before swimming away. Zöe strikes out after her, catching up with her quickly. She spends a lot of time in the pool, and she's gotten quite fast. She reaches out, and snags her around the waist, dragging her close. "Oh no, you're not getting away that easily," she whispers darkly in her ear. Rose turns into the other girl, expecting a kiss or some such from the slight huskiness of the freckled girls voice. Instead, she's pushed down roughly, spluttering into the water. By the time Rose breaks the surface, Zöenna is running along the sand, water streaming from her hair and down her legs.

When Rose reaches the shore, it takes her a moment to find Zöe. She's standing farther down the shore, tugging her clothes back on. Rose follows suit, and they sit down on the sand.

The Doctor joins them a short time later, just as the sun begins to set. They lean against him as the planets twin suns begin to dip beneath the horizon. The ocean begins to glitter, and the sky turns all shades of green and blue and purple—colors the three of them don't even know the names of. "This was great," Rose grins, sinking into the Doctors side.

"Yeah," Zöe agrees, sinking into The Doctor as well.

"See," Rose gloats. "I told you you'd love it. Thank you Doctor." Zöe nods in agreement, and her shoulders relax, and the nodding fades into light snoring. The Doctor smiles fondly, and scoops the Time Lord up into her arms. She lets out a content sounding rumble, and Rose grins at how much she sounds like a cat. The two make their way into the TARDIS, and go wearily down the hallway to Zöenna's room. They curl up together on the bed, and fall asleep, the hum of the TARDIS acting as a sort of lullaby.


	3. Dalek

"Zöenna." The voice is firm, serious. She turns away from the shelf of books, The Unabridged Works of Slarshkdeflyan in her hand. The smile melts from her face at the grimness on both of their faces. The Doctor looks down at Rose, and his hand flutters a bit. Some sort of understanding passes between them, and Rose leaves. She knows that this is something that the Doctor and Zöe need to talk about privately.

"Doctor…" Zöenna's voice trails off, and it's clear to him that she's hoping he's going to do that silly smiling thing that means everything is ok. He doesn't.

"Zö. Zöenna. I—We found—oh Rassilion." Whatever it is that The Doctor is trying to tell her is so bad, he can't even speak. And that scares her. Because this is The Doctor, The Oncoming Storm, The Destroyer of Worlds, and he _can't_ be frightened.

"Doctor," this time, her voice is barely more than a whimper. She's on the verge of panicking, and she can feel the pressure of tears rising in her chest. "Doctor, please, whatever it is, it can't be that—"

"Dalek." Zöenna's mouth snaps shut.

"No. No, that's not possible. You killed them. You destroyed them all. Those last moments of the Time War. I _saw_. I saw them spiraling into the vortex, being torn to pieces. It was a fake, or, or something, but there are _no. More. DALEKS!_" She's mad now. This is a sick joke on The Doctor's part.

"I know. I saw it too. But somehow, one of them survived. I don't know how, but it happened. But one of them survived, and it hurts, but maybe it's a good thing, maybe others survived, not just Daleks. It was so broken, Zöenna, so broken. I did that to them."

"No. NO! You don't get to feel pity for them. THEY DON'T GET TO BE PITIED! THEY DON'T DESERVE IT," Zöe shouts, tears welling up in her eyes. She slumps against the bookshelf, all of the fight going out of her. "But of course you can feel pity for them. You were out there fighting, sure, but you didn't see the aftermath, what everyday people went through."

"No. I didn't push you to talk, because you seemed so fragile. I just—I just assumed you'd been an everyday citizen, who'd gotten trapped beneath some building."

"I was just a kid when the war started. One hundred years old. At first, well at first it was just a far away thing, you know? A couple dozen Time Lords fighting the Daleks in the space between Skaro and Gallifrey. But then they started coming to our planet, destroying buildings…taking captives."

"Where you…?"

"No. My sister, though. They took her off the streets in one of the first raids. She was coming home from school with her boyfriend. She was just about to do her upper levels to get into the University. They snatched her up. Her boyfriend, Saudnarian, he got away. Ducked into a building, tried to pull her in after him, but it was no use. Once the Daleks had moved on, he came running home. He burst in the door—no one kept them locked in those days—babbling about Daleks, and abduction. I didn't know what was happening. I knew what the Daleks were, of course, but I was too young to fully comprehend what that meant. He called my parents, and they came rushing home. The council began sending out rescue parties; we reported my sister missing, but… they never got her back."

"I thought the first rescue missions were a success."

"They were—for the most part. But some people, they'd been taken straight to the Skaro prisons, or maybe just killed right away. We waited, every day we waited by the landing docks. We watched dozens of families reunited with brothers, sisters, fathers, uncles, mothers, children, but no Lillania. And then they stopped sending out the rescue missions, because more and more Daleks were invading, and fewer and fewer captives were coming back. My dad joined up as a fighter, as did Saudnarian. I think they were both hoping they'd be able to get my sister back. I think a lot of the Time Lords who joined up thought along those same lines. For a while, things were still kind of ok. The increased number of fighters was able to keep most of the Daleks from actually getting to Gallifrey. Everyday life went on in a semi-normal way.

For a little while, it looked like the Time Lords might actually win, like my dad would come back, and maybe Lillania would get rescued and she and Saudnarian would get married and we'd be a happy family again, but…then the tide turned. Suddenly, there seemed to be an increase in Dalek numbers. There were more direct attacks."

"I remember that. I was on the front line"

"By then, I was at least five hundred years old. A lot more mature. When we got a formal message from the emergency Council of War, telling us that my father had been killed on the front line, that was the last straw. They sent us a picture, as well. Supposedly, it was a picture of my father, taken only a short amount of time—there was no real measure of time by then—before he died." Zöe looked up into The Doctor's eyes.

"He looked completely different. When he left for the front lines, my father had used two of his regenerations. He was hit with one blast from a Dalek gun. By the end of his life, he'd regenerated eleven times. Eleven Times, in three hundred years. Like I said, my mom lost it. She ended up being taken to a hospital, because her mental health had declined so much. That left me on my own. I started working for the hospital, so that I would be able to support myself, and be close to my mother. I filled papers, then helped out the nurses, and then, eventually, learned enough to actually be a nurse. I don't know how many war injuries I treated—both soldiers who'd gotten out of the front lines in time, and members of the general population who had been trapped in buildings that'd been attacked, or something of the sort. Do you know how many Time Lords I saw regenerate?" A pause. "Even worse, do you know how many I saw who didn't?"

She stares hard at The Doctor. "You saw worlds destroyed by those things, you saw soldiers die, I get that, but I saw citizens—everyday people, die. So don't you _dare_ tell me that finding that Dalek was a good thing. _Don't. You. Dare._" She shoves him, and he falls backwards, unprepared for the sudden act of violence. "You _know_ none of them survived. The Time Lords are gone, Doctor. It's just you and me. We're _it._" With that, she turns and storms out of the library, slamming the door behind her.

**A/N Here, have a Dalek to cheer up your day!**

| |—( EXTERMINATE!

—

/ o|o|o|o \

/ o |o|o| o \—( | **—**

/ o |o|o| o \

/ o |o|o| o \

—


	4. Father's Day

When they stumble into the TARDIS, Zöe is there, waiting. "ROSE! DOCTOR!" she cries, tackling them in a hug. She pulls back, surprised and hurt, when The Doctor shrugs her off, and storms into the depths of the TARDIS. Zöe looks after him, and then turns to Rose, the question shinning through the dampness in her eyes.

"I screwed up," Rose offers, before the redhead can even ask. "I—He took me to see my dad," Rose pauses, seeming choked up.

"That's nice," Zöe suggests, trying desperately to cheer the girl up. In all the time she's known Rose— since the moment she stumbled into the TARDIS, stared, and raced back out— she's never seen her look so _small_. Not even after she gave life to that lone Dalek.

"On the day he died." Rose seems to have regained her voice, and it's stronger now, though Zöenna can tell that the blonde is trying desperately to swallow her tears.

"Rose—" she breaks off. What do you say to someone who's just seen her father die? She finally settles on: "What…What happened?"

"I saved him." It's so simple, but Zöe _knows_ that there's more to it. "I saved him, and everything went wrong. It went _so wrong_, Zö. There were these…things. Giant, bat-like things that kept swooping down, snatching people up. And it was _all. My. FALT!_" Rose's fists come banging down onto the console, and then her legs go out from under her. Zöenna just barely catches her, and it occurs to her how wrong this is. Rose is always the strong one. She's the one to hold the freckled girl when she wakes up screaming from the nightmares. The two girls sink to the floor, and Rose continues.

"They were…feeding on time, or something. Cleaning the wound. That's what the doctor told me. And, time was going all funny."

"That's what it was."

"What?"

"Well, there was this moment, and it's like it never happened, but I can still remember it. I was in the kitchen, making dinner—I figured you two would be hungry when you got back—and then…I wasn't."

"Wasn't what?" Rose's brow furrows, and she stops crying for a moment.

"I don't know. I just wasn't. It was like I was being sucked into a vacuum. It felt like a thousand hooks pulling me apart, burning, freezing, exploding, imploding, combusting, all at the same time. And it hurt like hell, worse than anything I'd ever experienced, even in the Time War, and I wanted to cry out, but, at the same time, I was completely numb. I couldn't feel a thing."

"How is that even possible? Feeling all those things, all that pain, and being numb at the same time?" At this point, it's clear that Rose's brain hurts, trying to comprehend all of these things.

"I don't know. And like I said, I don't think it ever really happened, because you and the Doctor fixed time. But, I can still remember it. It's like… a dream."

Rose's eyes widen suddenly, and she flings her arms around her friend, burying her face in the girls neck. "I'm so sorry," she whispers, sniffling again.

Zöenna pulls back, and looks down at Rose. "It isn't your fault. You're just a human, you can't have known any better…" she trails off, as Rose's eyes flash with hurt, and then become defiant.

"That's exactly what he said, 'Another stupid ape.' Is that all you think about me? That just because I'm a human, not a Time Lord, I'm nothing but a child?" Rose is up off the floor in an instant, running out of the console room, as Zöenna's arm stretches out after her.

By the time Zöenna manages to pull herself up off the floor and make her way into the hallways, Rose is gone. She wanders for a while, hoping to stumble upon her, but finds nothing. Finally, she resigns herself to her room, curling up on the bed. She surprises even herself when she starts crying. Her chest aches, because she and Rose have been best friends since the moment they'd met, and they've _never_ had a fight. Rose and The Doctor, they fight plenty, in that good-natured couple-y way. They've even had a few real rows, because The Doctor has a bit of a temper and Rose is stubborn. And every time they do, Rose comes storming into Zöe's room. She will rant on about how much of a prick The Doctor is, and Zöe will just sit there and nod. Usually, The Doctor wanders in at some point, and sits behind Rose, wraps his arms around her, and laughs because Rose will adamantly refuse to acknowledge him, and continue to rant. Nights like those are…fun to say the least.

This is the first row she's had with Rose, and it _hurts_. It hurts even more knowing that Rose is probably off sobbing, because The Doctor said that horrible thing to her, and Zöe practically repeated it, and she's probably feeling inadequate and looked down on. And then, something else hits her, something so terrifying that she suddenly can't breathe. _What if Rose leaves? What if she hates us so much that she demands to be taken back home?_ Zöenna's lungs constrict, and her breathing becomes shallow. She's hyperventilating, and about to faint, when Rose bursts through the door. The blonde is at her side in an instant, holding her tight, stroking her hair.

Zöenna clutches at her shirt, and whimpers. "You're still here. I though—I thought you'd leave 'cause you think we don't want you but we do. Please don't leave us."

Rose hugs her close, whispering, "You. Are an idiot. A right idiot if you think something as stupid as The Doctor being a temperamental prick is gonna get me out of this TARDIS." They sit there for a while, and eventually, The Doctor wanders in, and Zöe laughs, because some things never change. This time's a bit different though, because The Doctor apologizes, and Rose turns away from him. She's not just being stubborn this time; Rose really hasn't forgiven him. He backs out of the room, as Rose leans over and kisses Zöe. It tastes bitter, and the redhead pulls away. "Don't, Rose. Not tonight. Not because you're mad at him. Once you've cooled down…well then all three of us can have some fun, but until then, go to your own room."

Rose glares at her, but it's weak, and half-hearted. She knows the Time Lord is right. "Fine," she mutters, sulking out into the hallway.

It only takes a day or so for Rose to revert back into her normal, cheery mood, and, well, they don't leave the TARDIS that day.


	5. The Doctor Dances

**A/N Sorry for the amount of time this took.**

Disclaimer: I just realized that I should probably be doing these. I don't own Doctor Who. I do, however, own Zöenna. And her awesome scarf.

Zoë's hand drops as Rose and The Doctor walk out the TARDIS, the doors shutting behind them. She turns, and runs her hand along the console, the TARDIS humming in a content sounding way. Like a cat's purr. She drifts aimlessly around the console room, and then meanders down a hallway. She likes doing this: choosing a hallway at random and following it until she comes to an interesting looking door. This time, it's large, and blue, shaped like an arch. She presses her hand against the door, not pushing, just feeling.

There's warmth pulsating behind the door—not hot, just warm, like sitting next to a fire. She pushes gently…and the door remains firmly in place. Zoë frowns, and pushes harder, but still nothing. She puts her whole body into her next shove, and still nothing happens. Zoë furrows her eyebrows, confused. The only doors in the TARDIS that can be physically locked are The Doctor's, Rose's, and hers. Zoë stomps her foot, and glares up at the ceiling. "Come on Old Girl, let me in."

She is rewarded with an impertinent silence, if that's possible. "Please," Zoë begs. The TARDIS responds with a rumble, and more silence. Realizing that she isn't going to get her to open the door, Zoë casts one more frown at the ceiling (she's always felt like the TARDIS's consciousness resides in the ceiling, like an all knowing god), and continues down the hallway.

She rounds a couple of corners, and comes to a dead end. Her face twists into confusion for a moment; she can't remember ever having come to a dead end before. "Come on Old Girl, what's up?" The TARDIS merely rumbles in a discontent sort of way. "Ah. I see. You want me in the console room, don't you?"

There's a sort of hum, and Zoë can picture the TARDIS consciousness smiling. Zoë back tracks…and ends up totally lost, which, all things considered, is not an uncommon occurrence. She tries a couple of doors, hoping one will be familiar (the TARDIS is a finicky old ship. Some of her rooms are fixed, like the bedrooms, the kitchen, and the library, but others spin and turn upside down, and change hallways). The first two doors are totally new: A banana room (she'll have to tell The Doctor about that one), and a room full of make-up, and very short shorts (She's not sure why that room exists, but she leaves quickly, and hopes Rose never finds it). Finally, she finds a room that's familiar, and from there it's relatively easy to find her way back to the console.

She just sits there a while, listening to the various beeps, dings, and hums of the TARDIS. Zoë knows that to Rose it all just sound like noise, but she understands. The Doctor does too, to an extent, but not like her. While The Doctor and Rose go out and explore, run, get captured, save worlds, and shop, she sits and listens. It makes her laugh when the TARDIS goes someplace way far from where The Doctor was aiming, and he kicks the console and mutters. The TARDIS just hums back calmly, and The Doctor may not understand, but Zoë knows she's laughing. Zoë knows that the TARDIS is telling him, "Go on you silly old man. This place needs rescuing far more than Rose needs a tan, or a shopping trip; far more than you need to show off."

Zoë is startled from her musings when the doors burst open, Rose and The Doctor practically toppling over in their rush. Before Zoë can open her mouth to ask about their adventure, The Doctor flies to the console and begins pulling levers and pushing buttons, muttering "Please, please, please, just this once." Catching onto The Doctor's frantic need to land were he wants them too, Zoë puts in her own little plea with the TARDIS, "Come on Old Girl, take him where he needs to go."

They materialize, and Rose throws open the doors. They've landed in a smallish spaceship, and Zoë can see a man in a WWII uniform lounging at the controls. He looks at them with a stunned face, and it's then that Zoë spots the missile on the ship. The man jumps to his feet and runs towards them, barreling into the TARDIS, whose doors shut behind them. As though she understands what's happening, which Zoë is pretty sure she does, the TARDIS dematerializes.

The man stands up and straightens himself out, and turns to her. He extends his hand, and smiles at her. "Hello. Captain Jack Harkness. And you are?"


	6. In Which Jack Harkness Stands too Close

**A/N: I decided to change tenses, cause I was getting tired of writing in the way I was. I'll probably return to that style, though. For now, enjoy Zöe's reaction to meeting everyone's favorite pansexual. (Also, I'm writing this with and I get a kitten picture every 100 words). Also, this got way intense. **

Zöe extended her hand, eying the man before her dubiously. "Jack, stop it," The Doctor said, scowling.

"What?" he protested. "I'm only saying hi."

"For you, that _is_ flirting."

Jack rolled his eyes, and turned to Rose. "So, this thing's bigger on the inside?" he flirted; Zöe scowled.

"Yeah. I don't really know how it works. The Doctor can explain it...maybe. I just sort of go along with it. But she's got some really cool rooms."

"Does it? So..." he paused for a moment, "care to show me around?" He lifted a single eyebrow in a way that Zöe most certainly did _not_ like. Rose blushed, and Zöe glared. "So, Doctor, how's this thing work? One minute I'm sipping a martini about to blow up, and the next, your box is materializing in my ship."

"Well, it's all to do with the Vortex, and the Time Void, very complicated, I'm sure you wouldn't understand—"

"You have no clue, do you? What about you?" Jack asked, turning to Zöe. "Rose told me how she got picked up, but you don't look like twenty-first century London."

Zöe grimaced, but answered. "No. I'm a Time Lord, like the Doctor. We're the only two left, and now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going off to bed." This Jack Harkness was _not_ sitting well with Zöe. He was much too flirty, and he was standing _entirely_ too close to Rose.

"Wait!" Rose called out. "Don't you want to hear about our adventures?"

Zöe winced. Rose sounded extremely excited, and she felt bad blowing her off, but she couldn't stand to be around this man any longer. "Maybe later, Rose," she sighed. Rose's face fell. "It's just, I'm, uh..." her brain failed her, and then her stomach twisted in knots as Jack stepped closer to her Rose. "I'm not feeling well." It wasn't entirely a lie. "I just need rest. You guys have fun, though."

Rose stared longingly after the red-haired Time Lord, knowing something was wrong. Suddenly, Jack didn't seem quite so enthralling, and his arm around her shoulder felt heavy. "I-I should probably go see what's wrong." She had an idea, if Zöe's look in his direction before she left was anything to go by. "I trust you'll look after him?" she inquired of The Doctor, indicating Jack with her head. "And you," she turned to the military-dress clad man. "Make sure The Doctor doesn't do too much brooding." Jack put a hand to his forehead in a salute as Rose turned to follow Zöe into the depths of the TARDIS.

She headed towards Zöe's room, assuming that that was where she'd go if she weren't feeling well. She rapped on the door, and, when she got no response, placed her hand on the knob. "Zöe," she called, turning the handle and pushing lightly. The door opened with no resistance, revealing an empty room. Puzzled, she pulled the door shut, turned, and walked down the hall. She could go back to the console room and hang with the Doctor, but Jack'd probably be there too, and she suddenly didn't feel much like being around him.

After wandering aimlessly for a few minutes, she made her way back to her own room. She placed her hand against the door, and it slid open, revealing none other than Zöe. The redhead was sitting on Rose's bed, legs crossed and eyes boring holes into the wall. When she heard the pneumatic hiss of the door, Zöe's head turned. In the same moment, she pushed her herself fluidly off the bed, and launched herself at Rose. Her hands found their way to the blonde's shoulders, shoving her roughly against the door. Before Rose could get out a word, their lips crashed together, Zöe's tongue slipping past into Rose's mouth. Her hands fumbled, and pushed the jacket from Rose's shoulders. It fell to the ground with a thump, and the noise seemed to break some sort of spell. Rose's hands went to Zöenna's shoulders and gave them a shove.

They separated with a pop, and Rose looked up into the redhead's eyes. They were wild, and stormy, anger brimming just below the surface. "Zöe, what's wrong?"

She was met with silence, and a heated stare. "Mine,' she growled. Rose's eyes turned inquiring. She took a step forward, looking into the redhead's eyes.

"Sorry?"

"Mine," the growl tore from Zöe's throat, and she grabbed Rose by the front of her shirt and pulled her forwards. Zöe's knees hit the edge of the bed, and she toppled backwards, dragging Rose own on top of her. Rose stopped complaining when Zöe's hand found its way under her shirt. She tugged at the hem, and tossed the Union Jack tee over the blonde's head; Rose fumbled with the buttons on Zöe's blouse. She tugged the girl up, and shoved the garment to the side, hands trailing down. Zöe moaned and bit down on Rose's collarbone. "Mine," she mumbled against Rose's flesh. "Jack can forget any notions of having it off with you." She gave Rose's skin another nip for emphasis.

Rose pulled back, laughing. "So you are jealous!"

"No! Er…well, yes, I suppose. I just— You're mine."

"And the Doctor's," Rose reminded her softly.

"Yes, and the Doctor's," Zöe consented.

"If that's so, then why don't you invite him up here. You've no idea what he and Jack might be getting up to. Shouldn't you get him up here, so you can protect what's yours?" There was a laugh in Rose's voice, but Zöe's eyes were still full of storm clouds.

"Let him be. I couldn't care less what happens with them." It wouldn't be till later that Rose would realise the true weight carried by her statement. At that point, however, Zöe shoved her back against the bed and moved her hand down to the button on Rose's jeans.

* * *

Zöe wakes up about halfway through the night. She figures the Doctor must have parked them in space, because the TARDIS has created a window, and there is what appears to be moonlight falling across Rose's shoulder. She grins, and places a kiss on a small cluster of freckles. Her stomach rumbles slightly, so Zöe gets out of bed and yanks on one of Rose's pullovers—she doesn't believe she's seen it before; it's sort of pinkish-purple, and has the words "Bad Wolf" printed across the front—and a pair of very short purple shorts. She winds her scarf around her neck and drifts down the corridor.

She wanders into the kitchen, and whom should she find, but Jack Harkness. She gives him a nod, and goes to search through the cupboard. Jack glances over to her, and raises his eyebrows. "You look...content. Feeling better?"

She turns and grins. "Yeah, as a matter of fact, I am."

There's a pause as Zöe goes back to rummaging. When she turns, snacking on a bag of crisps, Jack is staring at her. She furrows her brows. "What?"

"Nothing, it's just... your scarf," he comments, pointing at said garment. The rainbow scarf is floating happily behind the Time Lady, swaying slightly.

"Yeah. It's uh... it's sorta alive. Not living, but the fabric sorta connects to me, reflects how I'm feeling." A pause. "I dunno," she shrugs off "the Doctor gave it to me. After he rescued me." She stops abruptly. "I have to go. I don't want Rose to wake up and think I've run out on her." With that, she pushes past the man and hurries down the corridor.

When she gets back to Rose's room, she finds that the blonde is still asleep. She tugs the pullover over her head, and slips out of the shorts, before shimmying under the covers. She wraps her arms around the woman next to her, who promptly wakes up. She turns around and blinks sleepily up at the redhead. "Did you leave?" she asks, sounding hurt.

"I just needed a snack," she replies, placing a kiss on Rose's forehead. The blonde reaches up and plants a lingering kiss on Zöe's lips, smiling against them. With a final grin, Rose buries her head in Zöe's chest and drifts off to sleep once more, followed quickly by Zöe.


	7. She Doesn't Care What THEY Get Up To

**A/N Finally! Sorry this took forever. I apologize for the fact that these updates come slowly. I never forget about it, it's just that I'm putting a lot more work than usual into this story and the characters, and about 70% of the ideas that come to me are about season four/the future in general. HUGE thanks to my bestest friend for her help with the ending.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Zöe.**

When Zöe awoke several hours later, her internal alarm told her that it was morning, or whatever passed for morning in the TARDIS. It was all very relative. More importantly, her stomach told her it was time for breakfast. She dragged herself out of bed, and pulled on some underthings. She yanked on her pants from the day before, and let them settle on her hips. As she was reaching for her shirt, her gaze landed on the distinctive blue of Rose's Union Jack tee. Grinning silently to herself, she pulled it over her head, wound her scarf around her neck, and wandered out into the hallway. If there were any doubt in Jack's mind as to what she and Rose had gotten up to the night before, this would surely erase it. She cast one last glance to Rose's sleeping form, contemplating waking her. One look at her peaceful face convinced Zöe that it was best to let the blonde sleep.

She wandered out into the hallway, and drifted toward the kitchen. When she pushed the door open, she was met with the sight of the Doctor scowling at the toaster. Jack was perched on the counter, laughing openly at the Doctor's attempts to sonic the obstinate device. "Doctor, what are you doing?" Zöe raised an eyebrow.

"This infernal metal box will not surrender my breakfast!"

Jack burst out laughing, and glanced over at Zöenna. "Does he do this often?"

The previous night with Rose had softened Zöe's attitude towards the man, so she answered. "Only when the appliances steal his breakfast, and only before his morning coffee. If he's had his coffee, he calls Rose or me to fix it. Before coffee it's a personal affront and he has to shout abuse at it for a while. Doctor, let me." Zöe shoved the Doctor out of the way, and bent over. She whispered to the TARDIS—something along the lines of "Come on old girl, let the Doctor have his breakfast. Then you can take him somewhere exciting and ruin his attempts to impress Rose,"— and the toast popped out of the toaster, now thoroughly burned. The Doctor snatched said toast and stalked out of the kitchen, mumbling angrily. Zöe was very careful not to let the Doctor know that the TARDIS would fix the toaster for her and not him.

Zöe went about fixing herself breakfast, putting a pan on the stove and taking out an egg carton. She held it up to Jack, a questioning expression on her face, and he nodded. "Two please."

Zöe melted some butter and cracked three eggs into the pan. She stood by the stove, trying to look like she was paying close attention to the breakfast, and like she wasn't acutely aware of the awkward silence that had fallen over them. "I wonder where Rose is," Jack offered, attempting to break the silence.

"Still asleep. She sleeps like a rock after long nights," Zöe informed him curtly. The silence descended once again. Zöe flipped the eggs and served them onto two plates, pouring two mugs of coffee from the pot that the Doctor had obviously forgotten about. She handed one plate and mug to Jack, and sat down at the small round table.

After a few moments of silent chewing, Jack spoke up. "You don't like me, do you?"

Zöe didn't hesitate to answer. "You flirt with Rose."

"I flirt with the Doctor. I flirt with everyone," Jack fired back.

"You flirt with Rose. Rose is mine. And the Doctor's, occasionally." Zöe emphasized.

"Oh. I'll lay off. If I'd known…" Jack trailed off. They both knew he'd have flirted anyway. "Anyway…I'm uhhh… I'm gonna go find the Doctor." With that, Jack stood up and swooshed out of the kitchen.

Despite herself, Zöe smiled a little at his exit, and then rolled her eyes upon realizing that Jack had not put his dishes away.

When Zöe walked into the console room, she was met with the sight of the Doctor in a corner, pouting. Jack was trying to coax him out by promising to show him how the vortex manipulator worked, to no avail. He sighed and turned to Zöe. "He's been sitting like this since I came in. I don't know what to do."

Zöe held out the mug of coffee she'd brought in, and the Doctor turned his head to her immediately. He leapt to his feet and hurried over to her, snatching the mug from her hands. Zöe grinned at Jack, and simply said, "Works every time." She turned to the Doctor, who had, by now, made his way to the console and was pulling at random nobs and levers. "So, where are we off to today?"

"Well, I was thinking—" The Doctor was cut off as the TARDIS gave a sudden jerk. By the time they'd climbed to their feet, the TARDIS had landed. The Doctor pulled the viewing screen towards him, and examined it. "Looks like she's dumped us on Flordivian, Earth date May 9, 1320. Ah, yes. There's a revolution going on. If I recall correctly, the revolutionaries nearly gave up right around now. The king had wiped out so many people that they were starting to give up."

"What happened?" Jack asked. Zöe was beginning to think she knew why they were here.

"Well, it's very vague. Some man managed to reignite the revolution and they—oh. Oh."

"Yeah, Doctor, you better get out there."

"I don't understand," Jack looked to the Doctor. "Why should we go out there?"

"Well I'm betting the 'Mystery Man' was the Doctor. It tends to be," Zöe answered for him.

"Is Rose awake? Should I wake her? We really don't have much time…"

"Let her sleep. You two boys go out and save the revolution. Rose and I can have some girl time." Zöe shooed Jack and the Doctor towards the door. "And Doctor," he turned his head. "Try not to get killed."

Zöe figured the boys had been gone for about an hour when Rose finally wandered into the console room. "Zöe, have you seen my— oh, there it is," she said, surprised, glancing down at Zöe's shirt.

""Yeah. It was the first shirt I saw this morning," Zöe replied.

"I see. It doesn't have _aaaanything_ to do with Jack flirting last night, right?" Rose winked, drawing Zöe closer by the belt loop.

"No," she protested. "Not at all." Zöe leaned forward to kiss Rose, but the blonde turned away at the last second.

"Breakfast!" Rose announced, walking off towards the kitchen, hips swaying. Zöe groaned, but moved to follow. She stopped at the doorway, watching fondly as Rose moved to grab eggs and bacon from the fridge. "I assume you ate already?" the blonde asked, turning to Zöe.

The redhead nodded. "When I woke up, the Doctor was shouting abuse at the toaster," she responded, nodding to the offending item.

Rose chuckled. "I assume you fixed it." Zöe nodded once again, and Rose grinned, tongue pressing against her teeth. "Speaking of the Doctor, where is he?"

"Oh, the TARDIS landed on a planet whose revolution is in need of saving. The Doctor and Jack went out to help the revolutionaries about an hour ago. I didn't want to wake you. I figured we could have a girls' day in?" Zöe's voice lifted at the end, suddenly unsure if that was what Rose wanted.

The blonde nodded, her grin widening into a full-blown smile. "Hmmm. I would've thought you'd go with them. Protect the Doctor from Jack's advances, like you did yesterday for me."

The redhead shrugged, lifting off the frame of the door for a moment. "Oh, I don't care what _they_ get up to. And besides, it's dangerous out there," Zöe threw out carelessly. "Anyway, I'm gonna go take a shower… if you care to join me…" Zöe let the end of her sentence hang in the open air.

"No, uh, I think I'm gonna eat some breakfast," Rose held up the egg carton. "Maybe later. We can take a bath… do a spa thing?" Zöe nodded, and pushed off the doorframe, turning and disappearing down the corridor.

Rose turned to the stove and made herself a serving of eggs and bacon. Once they were ready, she grabbed a plate and sat at the table, eyebrows furrowed slightly. She stabbed at a piece of egg, Zöe's previous sentiments running through her head. _I don't care what __they__ get up to. _Last night, Zöe'd looked nigh near sick at Jack's flirting. Once Rose had found her, sitting in the middle of Rose's bed like she owned the place, the redhead's hands had been everywhere, pulling at clothes and running possessively up Rose's sides. And now? Now she couldn't give a rat's ass about Jack and his flirting. Rose forced her mind back to the last time the three of them had all been in the same bed. It was a little hazy, between Zöe's hands on her chest and the Doctor's lips hot on her shoulder blade, but she forced herself to work through the tangle of memory. Zöe had come in first, holding out her hand—a hairbrush being offered. Rose had taken it, patting the bed next to her and running the brush through the other girl's hair in long even strokes, until it was smooth and tangle-free. Zöe had turned for a thank you kiss, which very quickly turned heated. The Doctor hadn't come until later—until clothing had already been shed and Rose was already coming down off a high, Zöe lying next to her, drawing contented circles on the blonde's stomach.

After that, Rose didn't remember much. Slipping off the Doctor's coat. Pressing Zöe against the bed. The Doctor's hands around her waist. Zöe's fingers dancing across her sternum. Lying in a comfortable haze. Zöe leaving first, wishing them both a goodnight, but kissing only Rose.

She doesn't invite them both to bed that night.


End file.
